Duelist
by Zyderic
Summary: Max Winter always wanted to be a pro duelist, until he is humiliated in a match with his hero. He soon discovers the lack of ethics the tournament community has, and sets out to the World Championship to teach the entire world a lesson about true dueling!
1. Chapter 1

DUELIST

Chapter One: Cards can be Cruel

'Duel Monsters began with humble beginnings, just another card game in the overflowing market, overshadowed by older games with more cards and an established fan base. This may have continued for a long time, if it were not for the work of Seto Kaiba, the president of Kaiba Corporation. A few years ago, this great man, former world champion of Duel Monsters, began construction on a portable holographic generator. This was dubbed the Duel Disk. This system was revolutionary, but the game was still just a gimmick. Then, the Shockwave add-on was invented for serious players of the game. This invention allowed duelists to set shockwaves to come out of their Duel Disks whenever they lost Life Points. These drained the energy of duelists, and allowed a world-class sport to develop.

The adjustable levels of the Shockwave make Duel Monsters readily accessible to casual players, with higher levels for tournament players to tax their stamina to the limit. Now a Duel Monsters tournament features the legendary sportsmen known as duelists, with the mental power of a chess grandmaster, and the stamina and willpower of a marathon runner. We'll explore the making of the Duel Disk, and it's Shockwave software, right after this commercial.'

Max Winter turned away from the television. Like the dozens of people in front of the electronics store, he was killing time while waiting for Patrick Landers, one of the top duelists in the world. He had achieved Top 4 in the last 3 World Championships in a row, almost winning one of them. Apparently his punctuality didn't match his dueling skills, considering he was already fifteen minutes late. The commercial ended. He was about to turn back to the television when a rush of whispers went through the crowd. 'It's him.' he heard whispered. With difficulty, he squeezed his way in the direction the whispers started, and reached the new front of the crowd, where his friends were, and gazed down the shopping centre corridor.

There, walking with the unshakable confidence of a top duelist, was Patrick Landers. He walked towards the crowd. Behind him was a smaller man, hunched in a submissive attitude, carrying a wooden box. Patrick Landers stopped. He had no security, but the crowd stayed back as though held by an invisible barrier. This was a man who commanded, and received, respect. Landers was not a tall man, but his servant seemed somehow diminished in his presence.

Patrick whispered something to the man just behind him. The man bowed, and opened the box he had been carrying. Max didn't see the contents of the deep box, but Patrick pulled a Duel Disk out of it, and expertly strapped it to his arm. He cleared his throat.

'Dueling!' he suddenly yelled commandingly, 'is about confidence. It is about stamina, and it is about doing what you have to in order to win. There is no room for 'nice guys' in the dueling arena. I got where I am today, one of the world's best duelists, by showing no mercy, and crushing any opponent in my path. Dueling is not about friendship or honor. So you can forget all those corny movies about the kid who wins the World Championship. Only one thing matters. VICTORY! Victory. And nothing else.'

Patrick continued to speak as Max's mind was overlaid by a numbing fog. Was this the man he had been aching to meet? He had been picturing a kind, wise duelist, honorable and just. Instead he had this ruthless man before him, preaching about doing anything to win. Was this what duelists were like? Max returned to the speech.

'This may be a rude awakening for some of you. And I don't care. Those of you who have delusions about companions, about playing 'fair', and of being 'nice' can go play in the amateur league. The World Championship is the Championship, not Chumpionship!'

Unbelievable, Max thought. This guy had practically just said cheating, and being a jerk was the way to be a duelists. He was not going to stand for this any longer, and his rage boiled over into frustrated action.

"I object!" Max yelled out. All of a sudden, he was the centre of attention as he stepped forward from the crowd. 'Max.' his friend Jade whispered in his ear. 'Don't do this. This guy may be a jerk, and you can take him down one day. But not today. He is a professional. He makes a LIVING winning duels!' Max paid no heed. 'Thanks for the advice Jade, but I'm sure of this.' Despite himself, his spirit quailed as Patrick looked upon him like he would an ant beneath his shoe.

'I'm going to show you all a lesson.' Patrick said loudly, and grinned like a tiger shark. 'This child thinks HE knows what it means to be a duelist. Well, how about I show you all a display of a REAL duelist, right here, right now!?' The crowd cheered. 'Boy!' he spoke, murder in his eyes. 'Take out your Duel Disk, and duel.'

'Max…' Jade whispered again in his ear. 'This guy may be a jerk, is a jerk, but he's still a pro duelist. He's used to high-level Shockwave duels! You could get seriously hurt if you go through with this!' 'I know.' Max replied. 'But I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't.' Max stepped several more steps forward, hardly believing he was doing so. He was about to duel his hero. He suddenly noticed the crowd had cleared around him, turning the wide corridor into a dueling arena.

'Any of my decks could defeat you, boy. I want this to be over quickly. Short and sharp! That's how you learn. And believe me, you will learn to respect your betters. Wexley! Hand me my Beatdown deck!'

'At once, sir.' Wexley replied.

He took a step forward, and offered the box to Patrick, unable to take one hand off the box. Patrick took a deck and inserted it into his Duel Disk. Wexley backed away, near the crowd. 'Your turn, boy. Draw your deck!' Patrick spoke.

Max took his deck from his pants pocket and inserted it into his own Duel Disk, which he had strapped to his arm the whole time. Max pressed a button on his Duel Disk, and so did Patrick. The Duel Disks lit up sensing an opponent nearby, and a Life Point counter lit up. Max drew his hand and raised his dueling disk.

"Release holographic emitters!" Patrick said. He raised his disk high, and the voice recognition sensor interfaced with the motion sensor, shooting out two glimmering diodes. They sped almost to the edge of the crowd, and began to glow.

'Activate Shockwave software! Set to Level Eight!' Patrick commanded. The lights on each Duel Disk lit up as the command was absorbed.

There were only eleven levels on the system. Level Eight was designated Tournament Practice. All of a sudden, Max began to worry. 'I bet you, boy, have only ever played Level Four or Five!'

Little did Patrick know: Max and his friends only played on Level Two.

'I will allow you to go first.' Patrick spoke with quiet menace.

'My name is Max. Max Winter.' He responded as he drew his hand.

'I play Neo, the Magic Swordsman!' A human-sized swordsman formed, his image sustained by the holographic emitters. He carried a long, sharp-looking sword, with fist-sized balls of blue light circling it, glowing with magical power. He stared intently in Patrick's direction, and drew his sword. A hovering sign appeared above the monster's head. It said 'Neo the Magic Swordsman. 1700 ATK, 1000 DEF.'

'Your move.' Max said, far more confidently then he felt.

'Why thank you.' Patrick said sarcastically. He drew a card. Even drawing a card somehow looked cooler than normal when Patrick did it, and the crowd went silent in anticipation of Patrick's move.

'I play the Gene-Warped Warwolf!' This creature was two metres tall, towering over the swordsman. It looked like a werewolf, only less hairy. It looked humanoid, but pure hatred was in it's blood red eyes. It growled in anger, and it's hair rose up. It had intricate symbols on it's chest and all four of it's arms. A sign appeared above it: Gene-Warped Warwolf. 2000 ATK, 100 DEF.

'Gene-Warped Warwolf! Destroy Neo the Magic Swordsman!' The wolf leapt forward. Neo took a swing at the Warwolf, but it grabbed Neo's arm, encircled two other arms around him, and lowered it's teeth to the swordsman. The swordsman lit up like a nova, then disappeared. Max's Life Point counter lowered to 3700, and his Shockwave icon lit up.

All of a sudden, Max was hit by an intense force. Against his will, he sunk to one knee, awed by the intensity of this level of Shockwave. He gasped.

'So this is how you react to a mere 300 Life Point loss? This was barely a scratch! So imagine how it will feel when I strike you directly!'

Max was thinking the same thing, as he rose to his feet, already breathing hard, but his eyes were clear. He raised his head.

'Now, I place a card face-down and end my turn.' A Duel Monsters card, oversized, appeared face-down, floating a couple of inches above the floor.

'My move then.' Max said, trying to get his breathing under control. He drew, getting a Black Pendant.

'Excellent!' Max said.

'I play my Man-Eating Treasure Chest!' A large ornate box with glimmering jewels came onto the field. They glowed softly, and then the benign-seeming box revealed fangs and a large, grotesquely purple tongue. It hissed at the Warwolf. The sign revealed it's 1600 ATK and 1200 DEF.

'Now I equip it with my Black Pendant!' Max said.

'This raises it's ATK by 500, to 2100! In addition, once Black Pendant is sent to the graveyard, you lose 500 Life Points!' A huge pendant, with a black pearl, attached itself to the treasure chest.

The sign now proclaimed 'Man-Eating Treasure Chest. 1600+500 (2100) ATK. 1200 DEF.

'Nice move Max!' Chris, Max's other friend, yelled out.

'Keep it up!' Jade shouted.

Max aimed a thumbs-up at the two, then returned attention to the duel. 'Now, I attack with my creature! Man-Eating Treasure Chest! Destroy his Warwolf!'

The chest headed at the Warwolf, mouth outstretched, fangs fully extended and tongue flopping. It was nearly at the Warwolf when Patrick said 'Activate Shadow Spell!'

Patrick's face-down moved up, so that Max could see it. Suddenly, from the edge of the holographic field, nine thick chains wrapped the Man-Eating Treasure Chest. The creature floated back to Max's side of the field and stayed there.

'My move.' Patrick said with a wicked grin.

'Since you still don't have any cards face-down, I think I'm safe. I sacrifice my monster to summon Frostosaurus!'

The Warwolf lit up, and beams of light escaped it. It shone brighter and brighter, and then it was gone, replaced with a giant dinosaur, made of dark blue, ragged ice shards. It had a long neck, and tiny, yellow eyes. It's fangs were razor-sharp icicles, and it stood a meter taller than Max. The sign above it made Max gasp in shock: Frostosaurus. 2600 ATK. 1700 DEF. Max's monster, with Shadow Spell, was only 1400 ATK points strong. This was going to hurt.

'Now, I play the Mystical Space Typhoon!' Patrick declared. A whirlpool, with lightning striking at it's centre, appeared on Patrick's side of the field. It spun it's way over to Max's side, and engulfed his monster. Then it faded and dissipated, leaving no Black Pendant on the field. His monster now had a measly 900 ATK.

Patrick's life fell by 500, and he drew a sharp breath using the gaps in his teeth, but betrayed no other sign of having just been struck.

'Frostosaurus! Strike his Man-Eating Treasure Chest, and deal 1700 damage to his Life Points! I hope you can stand after this attack!' Patrick shouted in savage glee.

The monster struck with devastating force, cleaving the chains and monster alike, and blasting Max with a gigantic force. Max screamed. He felt as if the monster had skipped his creature and slammed right into him instead. He fell to his knees, then collapsed entirely, spent. His cards fell around him.

'See?' Patrick said. 'This is what I was talking to you all about. Ruthlessness! Mercilessness! This boy can barely stand up after the beating I've just given him, and if he stands, I'll strike again next turn!'

Max opened his closed eyes, just shy of fading completely. He stopped his ragged breathing, and started breathing evenly, through force of will. He did this for a couple of minutes until it was labored, but even. 'Are you going to get up? By tournament rules, you've been down for four minutes. You have one minute left to get up, and that carries over for the rest of the duel! Mind you, this is a smart move, because it's about to be over anyway.'

Max picked up his hand and rose, fortified by his enforced break. His breathing was regular, but he felt exhausted, as though he had just run a mile. He raised his head, and stared at Patrick. He had never dueled like this before in his life. It was beyond anything he had experienced.

'I think you've suffered enough, so I'll place one card face-down and end my turn.' Patrick declared. His card shimmered into place in front of him.

Max drew his next card, his hand shaking only slightly as he did so. There was nothing in his hand that could handle a 2600 ATK behemoth like Frostosaurus, but he DID just draw a card to prevent reinforcements showing up, so he could save his Life Points. Max drew his shreds of energy together, and confidently spoke.

'I place one card face-down in Defense Mode, and then play a card face-down. I end my turn.' Max said, trying not to let his voice quiver and betray the fact that he didn't have much strength left.

Patrick drew with a flourish. 'I play my Opticlops, in Attack Mode!' he said.

'Activate Trap Hole!' Max replied. 'Finally.' He thought. 'I've done something right in this duel.'

'Reveal Seven Tools of the Bandit' Patrick said, flipping up his own face-down card. 'This cancels out any Trap Card and destroys it, as long as I pay 1000 Life Points.' Shockwave struck, and Patrick cried out. His knees shook slightly but he stayed on his feet.

'Now I may have 2500 Life Points, but you're about to be defeated.' Patrick said so the whole crowd could hear it.

'Your math's a little off Patrick. I'll still have 200 Life Points left after your attack.' Max said, but he knew what the reply would be.

'Since Direct Attacks are far more devastating than regular attacks, and you aren't going to well, I wager you won't be able to get up after this, and since you've only got one minute of your floor time left, this match is over.' Patrick explained for the audience's benefit.

By this time, Opticlops was summoned. He was a cross between a gorilla and a Cyclops, with long simian arms and legs, and a single eye with a large fanged mouth. He had a sharp horn, which glimmered off the shopping centre's lights. He was covered in orange fur, beneath which huge muscles rippled. The sign read 'Opticlops. 1800 ATK. 1700 DEF.

'Frostosaurus! Destroy his face-down card!' Patrick yelled.

Frostosaurus slammed into a force field surrounding the face-down card. The force field rippled. A pretty woman in a flowing yellow robe, with a large harp appeared. She strummed a single note, then shattered into a thousand fragments, which disappeared.

'Opticlops! Your turn!' Patrick shouted. 'Attack him directly!'

Max gasped in fear as the creature rumbled up. It's holographic fist punched him in the face, and then in a single leap, Opticlops leaped back to it's master's side. A second later, Max was slammed with the largest shockwave yet. He opened his mouth, too stunned to scream. He fell to his knees, then pitched forward onto the marble floor, in a dead faint.

One minute later, the holograms disappeared into motes as Max's time expired. 'Well. There's the fruit of honor and friendship.' Patrick said, pointing at Max, collapsed on the ground.

'I'm sure this will be a lesson that nobody, especially Max, will forget for some time. My work here is done. Wexley, pack my deck and Duel Disk. We're leaving.' Patrick added.

Jade rushed over, and knelt beside Max. She turned him over. 'Max?' She lifted his head.

'Speak to me. Max? Are you okay?' Jade said with increasing concern. Then her worry turned to anger.

'You bastard!' Jade yelled at Patrick. 'Just look at him! Don't you have any feelings, you beast!?'

'Apparently not. And that's why I'm a champion, and he never will be.' Patrick replied contemptuously.

'Wexley. Collect my emitters. We've spent enough time here.' Patrick said, then turned his back on Jade and walked toward the exit. Wexley scooped up the emitters, and followed Patrick. They walked down the corridor, turned, and walked out of sight.

END OF CHAPTER

Join me next week as we learn more about Max and his friends, discover Max's fate and learn a terrible truth in Chapter Two!

This is my very first fanfic. Please leave comments on if it was good or bad and what I can do to improve it. Thank you for reading this first chapter, and hopefully you will continue on Max's journey with me. May it be as fun to read as it is to write. A new chapter every week!


	2. Chapter 2

DUELIST

Before I start this part of the story, I want to apologize. Due to an arm injury, and an imminent assignment, I was unable to complete the chapter on time. From now on, Sunday will be the day the chapter goes up. That's 8 days from now. This allows me all weekend to do homework, and type up the latest chapter. I hope this chapter is worth your wait! It's finally here! Without further ado, enjoy your latest 3,000 words of Max Winter goodness. Zyderic out.

Chapter Two: Corrupt Community

Patrick stood tall and arrogant behind an army of monsters. 'It was foolish to ever challenge me, boy!' he yelled. His Frostosaurus, Gene-Warped Warwolf and Luster Dragon were aimed at Max, who was defenseless.

'Prepare to be struck even worse than last time!' he yelled. Then he began to grow. He grew and Max shrank, until Patrick stood ten meters tall. 'But instead of striking with my MONSTERS, I think I'll take you out PERSONALLY!!!' Patrick boomed, his giant voice pounding Max with sonic waves.

'No! Please Patrick! I'll do anything! Just don't strike!' Max knelt before the giant Patrick.

'Patrick Landers, attack Max's Life Points directly!' Patrick boomed, and sent a huge fist towards Max. It was just about to connect when Max dived to the side and cracked his head. The pain brought him fully awake.

He was lying in a blindingly white room. As his head cleared, he noticed the green-sheeted bed next to him, the thin curtains separating his room from the rest of the building, and that Jade was saying his name over and over again.

'Max? Max? Max!' Jade said. 'Are you alright?' she said, kneeling down next to him.

'Where's Chris?' Max asked, then rubbed the back of his head, which was quite painful since he smashed it into the wall.

'He said he'd be right back about 20 minutes ago.' Jade said.

Chris took this moment to walk in. Instead of surveying the room, he considered it more important to take another bite out of a burger he was holding.

Jade rounded on him. 'So while Max was UNCONSCIOUS, you decided to go out to get BURGERS!' she shouted.

Chris took a gigantic swallow, and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, revealing a large McDonalds paper bag clutched in one hand. 'I brought enough for everybody.' He said. 'Oh, Max! You're awake dude! Awesome!' he exclaimed.

'Yes, if you hadn't noticed! But I suppose the burgers are more important than..' Jade stopped to draw breath.

'Thanks Chris.' Max said over the top of Jade's rant. 'I appreciate this. The hospital food's terrible.' Max said, doing precisely what he attempted to do, cutting Jade's tirade off immediately.

Chris opened the bag and took out not only burgers, but fries and Cokes too. The three set to the feast with unbridled enthusiasm, each considering it lucky Chris had bought lots of food: Max because his energy was drained from the duel with Patrick, Jade because she had expended her energy alternately worrying and yelling and Chris because…well because he just loved to eat.

'So, what happened to me anyway?' Max asked between bites, sitting up in his hospital bed.

'Well…' Chris started.

'I'll handle it.' Jade said. 'You wouldn't remember Max's NAME if it wasn't for the Maxi Burger at Burger Barn.'

'Tell me what happened from the moment I got knocked out.' Max asked, tossing aside his empty box of fries.

'Well, you obviously knew you collapsed after that direct assault. When your five minutes recuperation were up, you lost the duel. I yelled at Patrick and…' Jade said before getting abruptly cut off.

Chris abruptly cut Jade off. 'You yelled at him alright. I didn't even know you knew most of those words. I didn't know that **I **knew most of those words!' Chris said, and then took a gigantic bite of an improvised chip burger.

'Anyway…' Jade continued. 'I sent Chris to call for an ambulance. The crowd dispersed pretty quickly once Patrick left. You were taken to hospital, and since Chris is the only one of us with a driver's license, he drove us to the hospital. The doctors said you were stable but should be kept here overnight.' Jade finished.

Max took the last bite of his second burger. He reached for a third, but was disappointed. The food, despite the fact it should have fed six, was all gone. 'Overnight?' Max asked.

'Yeah.' Jade said. 'You need time to rest and recuperate.'

'I feel fine.' Max said. He grinned and brushed away the debris of the meal. Then he climbed out of bed and walked out of the room.

'Max? You can't just walk out! Max!' Jade shouted. She tore after him. Chris gathered up the rubbish and followed at a more sedate pace.

Max was walking down the corridor to the lobby. Jade ran in front of him and blocked his way forward. 'Jade, move out of the way.' Max said, slightly exasperated.

'Max. Get back to bed.' Jade said. 'Let me say this slowly. You are not fit to be walking around like this! You were unconscious fifteen minutes ago.'

'Twenty minutes ago.' Max said.

'Whatever.' Jade said. 'Fine. Chris! Get over here!' Jade said and smiled.

Chris walked over, having disposed of the mountain of empty boxes. 'You want me to force him back or something?' Chris asked.

'Nope.' Jade said. 'Just walk beside him on his left, and get ready to carry him.' She continued.

'What, you think I'm going to collapse in the middle of the corridor?' Max questioned.

'No. I KNOW you're going to collapse in the middle of the corridor.' Jade explained as she moved into position on his right. 'Go on, then. Start walking Max.' She said.

'Alright, I will.' Max said. He began walking, his friends following. He walked steadily for a minute or so. He began breathing louder.

'Everything alright Max?' Jade asked with an innocent smile.

'Absolutely…fine.' Max said with gritted teeth. He kept walking.

'I'd give it about ten more seconds.' Jade said.

Max made twelve. He suddenly staggered and fell to the left. Chris and Jade grabbed him. Max sagged limply under their hold, panting for oxygen. Because he had fallen to the left, he was closer to Chris. He whispered something to Chris.

'What?' Chris said.

'Tell Jade…'he said. 'Tell Jade….I hate it when she's right.' He said, and then darkness claimed him. Chris and Jade took him back to his room.

Two days later, Max was sufficiently recovered to leave. His friends were constant visitors, of course, and he got cards, flowers and gifts from his parents, who were too busy with their careers to do more than to order a secretary to prepare something. Max didn't even know how they knew he was there: he presumed the hospital called.

Two days later, Max was sufficiently recovered from his pummeling to leave the hospital. His friends constantly visited of course, and he received candy and get well cards from his parents, who were too busy with their careers to actually visit him. Max was used to it though. From the moment they could teach Max to use the microwave, leftover dinner was every day's lunch special, usually a frozen meal or leftover pizza.

Max never felt neglected until he found out the attention other parents gave their kids, and by then he was already strongly independent. When he needed help, his friends were there more often than his parents. No wonder he felt so close to Jade and Chris. His parents probably didn't even know why Max had been in hospital in the first place.

Family moments, when Max was young, even at that tender age Max treasured those moments, knowing without understanding why that they were special: special like diamonds. Yes they were wonderful, but part of the grandeur was the rarity of those days. As Max grew, his parents became more dedicated to their careers. One good thing came out of it though, Max never lacked for material things. He lived in a large house, with fine clothing. He even ate quite well now, since his parents hired a servant to clean and cook. The meals were nothing fancy, but better than two minute noodles or heat'n'serve mac and cheese.

Max returned to the present. He signed for the hospital bill with his credit card, which he could use for emergencies and for a certain amount each month as a more convenient version of an allowance. He left the hospital, still leaning on Jade a bit. He was recovered, but still weak from his ordeal.

'So where to, Max?' Jade asked.

'Back to the shopping centre.' Max said. 'I have something I want to buy.'

'What's that?' Jade asked.

'What's what? It's just a zit. I haven't had a shower since I got into the hospital remember?' Max replied.

'Not that, numbskull! What do you want to BUY? Honestly, you're as bad as Chris sometimes!' Jade said, shaking her head in disbelief.

'Oh, that!' Max said. 'I can't seem to get Patrick's words about dueling out of my head. I'm going to buy the DVD for last year's World Championship, and hopefully find out what the other duelists think.'

'Okay. You think you can manage on your own?' Jade said. 'I have chores to do.'

'Sure thing. See you later.' Max replied, and headed towards the shopping centre.

Max used the bulk of his month's allowance to purchase the deluxe box set, because it contained what he really wanted: interviews with the duelists. He took them home, and watched parts of it each night in bed before he went to sleep.

He quickly found that pretty much all of the top duelists thought the same way as Patrick. Only the more minor duelists thought differently, and few cared what they had to say, preferring to focus on the corrupting influence of the champions. The more he watched, the more he became disgusted. Opponents treated each other with disdain and not respect, venting anger out on the dueling field. They always seemed to want to inflict serious harm to one another rather than simply removing Life Points.

Max had always dreamed of aspiring to the top. He had pictured duelists as kind and just people. Now he knew better. The seeds of a daring plan began forming in Max's mind. The duelists were simply a bunch of cutthroats out to get one another. Many had been hurt when they could have been spared, but the victor instead decided to win with a larger attack than was necessary, just to injure a player.

They were cruel and they were vindictive, yet the world treated them like superstars. Was it possible that the entire world had lost sight of true duelists, and true dueling? Millions of children would strap on their first Duel Disk, and spend their lives aspiring to be like those snakes. Max would not allow this to continue. His proactive nature rebelled against just letting it be.

A couple of days later, Max met his friends again. They went out for lunch at the food court, and each got what they wanted to eat. Then they began to talk.

'So, Max?' Jade asked, taking small bites out of a foccacia. 'Did you find out what you wanted to know?'

'Yeah, Max.' Chris said, shoveling fried chicken into his mouth at an alarming rate. 'Spill.' He said, chicken grease dripping from his mouth. He clutched a napkin to his jaw.

'Patrick is a typical example of a professional duelist. To cut things short, they have no honor, attempt to harm one another, and have no moral scruples. Millions of people aspire to be like them. It's not right!' Max said.

'I know what you mean.' Jade said. 'But we can't do anything about it, Max.'

'Well I'm going to try.' Max said. He had decided upon his course of action last night, after watching the last interview.

'What are you going to do?' Chris asked.

'Simple.' Max said. 'I'm going to enter the World Tournament, and win.'

'WHAT!?' Jade said. 'Are you out of your mind? The Regional Qualifiers are in three months, you have no professional experience and you intend to win the World Championship?'

'That's right.' Max said. 'And if I don't win, I'll try next year. And the year after. And so on, until I do win.'

'What are you intending to prove?' Jade said.

'I'll make my way to the top, with honour, courage and spirit. I'm going to show the whole world the meaning of true dueling, and I won't give up until I make my voice heard.' Max said. His determination was iron-clad.

'Well then I'm entering too.' Chris said. Like Max, Chris wasn't bad. If he was determined, and he was, because he knew his friend had his back, he could become a pretty good duelist.

'Me too.' Jade said. She wasn't as good as the boys, but she had a natural determination that just might surprise them. Once she set her mind to something, she never gave up.

'With the three of us together, there's not a duelist that can stop us. We're going right to the top!' Max said. By each holding two hands up, they exchanged hi-fives simultaneously, then sat down to finish their lunch, or rather, for Max and Jade to finish while Chris wondered if he should get some more food. He did.

And with this, the three had their goal. After school, they met at Max's large, empty house. They used the dining room as a table to design and test decks, and the gaming room for full on dueling. Each week, they pooled their allowance, bought cards, and selected the ones they could use for their decks.

Over time, Max developed a Fusion Beatdown deck, summoning powerful creatures by combining cards from his hand. Chris worked on a 4-star deck, which worked on demolishing the competition. And Jade. Jade had surprised them all. With innovative side-decks, and constantly-changing cards, her deck was a Lord of Dragons deck, but never quite the same twice. All three cycled cards a lot to keep each other off balance, but Jade was the best at that, compensating for her slight lack in skill and technique.

They steadily built up the Shockwave, and Max dusted off his and his parents' old gym equipment to come up with three treadmills. The three ran, and occasionally swam, in order to improve their stamina for the duels ahead of them. They researched dueling techniques on the internet, then practiced them on low-level Shockwave. They played duels several times in a row, and sometimes moved the Shockwave all the way to Level Eleven. Those duels often ended in one of the three being knocked out by the shockwaves, but as soon as they recovered they were back in.

They even looked up mathematical formulas for the Shockwave. They found that while regular Life Point loss was equal to one-tenth the loss in force, the direct attacks were 1 of the attack…squared. In other words, 2000 Life Points damage would deal 200 force if it was regular, but a direct strike would hit for 400. In other words, direct attacks were very damaging, so it was best to avoid them if you could.

Knowing this, all three put defensive cards like Waboku in their deck, which actually stopped the attack, as opposed to cards like Enchanted Javelin, which gained Life equal to the attack, taking no net Life Point loss, but still getting slammed for lots of energy drain by the Shockwave. While levels 1-10 dealt 10-100 of the energy, Level 11 did 150, so only hardened players could stay conscious against it. Opticlops only dealt 258 force to Max, but at Level 11, it would have hit him for 486, and Max would have been a lot worse off than he was. They redoubled their stamina training.

Max looked up the World Championship, and how to qualify for it. Each district had a Regional Qualifier, and the winner of that went on to the Regional Championship, comprising about 45,000 people, or 1 in 160 of the state. It was lucky that Max, Jade and Chris lived in Sydney. Despite living only 5-10 miles apart, each were in separate regions, so would not have to face each other until the State Championship, and then only if they were unlucky.

Because New South Wales had a large population, it was allowed 10 spots out of 32 to fill the National Championship. Thus, the 160 Regional winners were each placed in a random tournament from 1 to 10, each with 16 entrants. If the three were lucky enough, they could be all in different tournaments. Unfortunately, Australia's small population only gave it 2 positions in the World Championship, thus even if they made it that far, one of them would not make it to the World Championship. But that was a worry for later on.

They trained and trained, honing their decks, bodies and minds, for the ultimate dueling challenge. And the Regional Qualifier drew near…

END OF CHAPTER

Join me next week in a perplexing chapter as a seer divines the fates of the three characters. Is she for real? Wait and see! More in Chapter Three: Destinies

The duel in Chapter One was just to show the Shockwave system really. In Chapter Four: Trial of the Qualifiers, we'll face the first REAL duel, with the improved deck of ….well that would be telling. Join me next week, and the week after for some awesome chapters!

-Zyderic


	3. Chapter 3

Sometime in the next two weeks, there will be a duel that can be done under one of two ways: one with a made up card, and one with official cards. Write a review with your opinion. You will influence this book, so think about your decision! Without further ado, enjoy the last setting chapter. The next chapter has lots of dueling action, and it only gets better from there! Let's go!

DUELIST

Chapter Three: Destinies

Max stopped running as the treadmill ground to a halt. He grabbed his towel and mopped his sweaty forehead, panting for oxygen. 'No training tomorrow.' Jade said. Chris and Max rose up a feeble, exhausted cheer. The three had been on a brutal training regime, and now the Regional Qualifiers were just two days away.

'The Regional Qualifiers are on Saturday, and we need to rest up for them. So early to bed tonight.' Jade said firmly, as protective as a mother hen. 'We won't duel well at all if we're exhausted. The Shockwave is going to be brutal there, and we need to be at the top of our game to win through.' Jade continued.

'Good idea.' Max said. 'Let's spend tomorrow after school just honing our decks privately. We can meet at my house to head to the Qualifiers together.'

Though the three were from different regions, the Qualifiers for several regions were all held at a large building in the Central Business District. Max, Jade and Chris all had their tournaments in that area.

Max went home to his empty house. The next day, he spread all his good cards out, and carefully selected the optimal cards to put in his deck. He spent hours going through every card deemed good enough to make the cut. He chose a precise ratio, and stuck to it, cutting out individual cards out of hundreds. When he had about 80-100 cards left, he built a deck, then shuffled cards around until he had a good deck. He went through it several times, then changed some cards and went through it again. After cutting cards about 5 times, he chose from a card pool of 60 several times before he was satisfied with his Fusion Beatdown deck. It was ready for the Qualifiers, which were 1-duel only, so he didn't need a Side Deck yet.

Chris ate, like he always did, while surveying all his cards. He split them into categories, sub-categories, and sub-sub-categories, then started cutting cards. He then put them together in different ratios for a 4-star Beatdown deck. He included a few six-star cards, and one seven-star to help make his ultimate creature. He put a single card in his Fusion Deck and smiled. By the end of the day, his deck, and his stomach, were packed full.

Jade moved cards repeatedly, bringing them together, apart and in circles, like an elaborate dance or an arcane ritual. Slowly she weeded out cards, and paired combinations together. She started pairing and separating them from her central combo, Lord of Dragons and the Flute of Summoning Dragon. Through intuition and logic, she cut combinations until she had a card pool like Max's, but one connected like a jigsaw. Eventually she packed a versatile, surprising deck, then packed about 20 cards to change in between duels to perplex opponents. She smiled and narrowed her eyes. She was ready.

The three met in front of Max's house as agreed. They looked through each other's decks, and were quite impressed.

'Wow, Chris. Your deck has some serious punch! Especially that Fusion Monster! I wouldn't want to be staring THAT down.' Max said.

'I try, Max. I try.' Chris replied.

Max looked through Jade's deck, confused. 'Look through it again.' Jade suggested.

Max did, and began to piece together the puzzle. 'WOW, Jade! This isn't a deck, it's a masterpiece! And if I know you, the best combos are the ones I don't see.'

'Probably.' Jade said, with an enigmatic smile.

Because the Regional Qualifiers were held in the same building, the three walked together in order to get to the qualifiers. After buying a light meal (and a heavy meal for Chris) they decided to head through the town square, which was so large that it seemed deserted, despite the hundreds of people often in it on Saturdays.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten the monthly market in this part of the city. They forced through the crowds, gaining ground with difficulty, only to find Chris missing.

'Chris! Chris!' Jade yelled.

'Hey! Chris! Where are you?' Max shouted.

Suddenly Chris appeared, carrying a hot chicken kebab with a bite taken out of it from a nearby store. 'Let's go guys.' Chris said, then took another large bite.

'DO YOU EVER STOP EATING!?' Jade screamed at him.

'Apparently not.' Chris said.

Jade opened her mouth to yell at him again, but stopped and just slapped her forehead instead.

'It just isn't worth the bother to get through that thick skull of yours.' Jade said.

'What?' Chris said, mouth full of chicken.

'Never mind.' Jade sighed.

The three continued on, past small stores with things hanging from the roofs, gaudy eye-catching tents full of fortune-tellers, face painters and caricature artists. Luckily they had only skimmed the food section, so they, (aka Chris) were not led astray. They continued past the crowds, until they could see the end of the market. The crowds were not so thick here, and the three settled to a walk rather than a shove.

'You three!' Someone called out. They turned to see a small woman, about Max's height. She had deep wrinkles on her face, and a mysterious look. She was standing outside a royal blue tent with plastic crystal balls from the walls. A large eye marked the tent, the eye being a bright red.

'You three are Max, Jade and Chris.' She said and smiled. 'You are the ones I have waited for. I have tidings of dire import for you.' She said and narrowed her eyes in seriousness.

'Yeah right.' Chris said. 'Fortune tellers are totally fake.'

'I don't know about this one…' Jade said. 'Something about her seems….familiar.'

'We're going to be late.' Chris said.

Jade checked her watch. 'Nah, we've got plenty of time.' She said. 'Come on!'

She jogged towards the tent. Max hesitated, then followed. Chris followed at a walk, muttering to himself. Max heard the words 'gypsy' and 'fake' , as if he needed any proof of what Chris was saying, which was quite obvious.

They entered the tent, and looked around. The royal blue here was a shade darker, and wooden shelves covered most of the walls, stopping only at the entrance. They were all packed with knick-knacks and trinkets. An octangular table with two chairs and a purple tablecloth and a crystal ball was in the exact centre of the tent. How she transported all this only she knew.

'The three of you are heading to the Regional Qualifiers. It is good that you entered my tent, for if you did not, you would assuredly have failed in your quest to bring honor back to the dueling world.' The seer said.

Max and Jade widened eyes in amazement, and Chris rose an eyebrow. 'Not bad.' He said. 'It's obvious we were going to the Qualifiers, but how did you know about why? Do that many people try to do this?' he said.

'Max.' the seer said. 'Give me your hand, and I shall reveal what awaits you in the trials ahead of you. All three of you face a difficult road, and all of you have your own obstacles to overcome. Should one of you fail, you will almost certainly lose. Should two of you fail, you have no chance to overcome the great evil that will be unleashed if your enemy wins the tournament!'

'Patrick?' Max asked.

'No.' the seer said. 'Patrick is but a minnow against the shark you face. A practicer of the arts of manipulating the shadows, he is an incredible duelist. Two of you are destined to face him, but if one of you fail your task, all three of you will face him, and you will all have the odds against you. Pay great heed to what I tell you, for it may save the lives of millions of duelists!'

'Someone winning a tournament won't kill millions of duelists.' Chris said. 'That's impossible.'

'Max. Your hand.' The seer said. Max handed over his hand, and the seer took it. Suddenly Max was no longer in the tent. He floated in a black nothingness. The seer appeared next to him.

'The visions you see cannot harm you, but rest assured, they will come to pass..if you last that long. Now, let us see your future!'

'I predict that you will suffer a great defeat. A friend's intervention may save you, but may also doom you to a fate of being a victim of the shadows!'

'How can…' Max said, but all of a sudden wind gushed past him. He had the sensation of accelerating. Then a bright light appeared, and quickly filled his vision. He closed his eyes.

Max opened his eyes. He was standing in the audience of a huge stadium. The champion duelist, Lance Rameras, was standing on one side of a dueling arena. The other duelist was him.

'Now you're finished!' Lance said. 'When my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon strikes, you'll be lucky to get up today, let alone duel in half an hour!'

Max noticed the dueling field. To his horror, he had nothing on his field, and a 4500 ATK monster about to take him down. The dragon was gigantic, about 9 metres tall. It had three heads, and huge wings. Each head had a symbol on it, and each was looking menacingly at Max. Well him. Well future him. Max's brain hurt.

'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Attack his Life Points directly!' Max screamed, and collapsed, completely defeated. Max looked on in horror. 'Is this my fate?' he asked.

'It might.' The seer said.

The microphone blared out. 'The winner of Duel One of the Semifinals is Lance Rameras! They will have their second duel in thirty minutes!'

Jade and Chris ran onto the arena, then the arena, Jade, Chris and Max's future self disappeared.

'Max. Your ordeal is the most simple, yet may be the hardest. Your path will be difficult. Every duel you fight will be a test of your inner strength and will, and will be very hard to overcome. Yet overcome you must.' The seer said.

They returned to the tent in a rush. Max let go of the seer's hand, shaken by what he had just witnessed. 'Chris.' The seer said. 'I cannot show visions to those who do not believe. Thus, there is no need to grasp my hand. Sit opposite me, and I will tell you your future…if you choose to listen.'

Chris sighed, and sat. The seer closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke. 'Max. Jade. You must not speak of anything you are about to witness. Chris will learn his destiny or not. He does not hear these words.'

'Now, Chris. Your fate.' Max and Jade suddenly were propelled into the dark, joined by the seer. 'Your fate is also dangerous and difficult. You also face difficult battles. Then you will be forced to make a choice. If you accept your destiny, you shall save the world from evil. If not, you will condemn your friend to a terrible battle, which he is unlikely to win!'

They heard Chris's voice, but not Chris himself. 'So a choice can save the world or doom my friend, but only if I listen to YOU? Give me a break.'

'I see you ignore your destiny, Chris.' The seer continued. 'You will accept your destiny, or you shall cause your friend to suffer. If you defeat the evil one, two horrors will be averted! If not, your friend must face him, and even if he wins, you will wander alone. Then, the evil shall return, and defeat Max Winter! You will be forced to fight for your friend's very soul.'

'There is no such thing as a soul!' Chris's voice yelled. 'This is insanity! You are a false seer who tries to make money by duping idiots!' he yelled.

'You go too far.' The seer said. 'Very well. I intended to hide this from you, but since you will not listen, I can tell you this!' A bright light appeared, to reveal an open-air stadium, atop a tall hill. A figure, shrouded in fog to mask his identity, faced Chris.

'Now I summon the Winged Tormentor of the Sky!' the figure yelled. A giant creature, the height of a 15-storey building, appeared. It was absolutely huge. It was a GIANT, muscled warrior, with golden wings. The warrior was red, and had two mouths.

'Winged Tormentor of the Sky! Attack him with the fury of three Egyptian Gods!' the figure said, then all was black.

'What happened?' Max said. 'Did Chris survive? Did he get hit? What?'

'That is masked by fate.' The seer said. They were suddenly back in the tent. 'Your fortune is told, Chris.'

'Yeah, whatever.' Chris said.

'Jade. You have a unique destiny. Take my hand, and see the future.' The seer said. Jade sat down, and took the woman's hand. All of a sudden, Max was no longer in the tent. Jade and the seer were already there, waiting.

'Jade.' The seer began. 'Your role is very important. If you do not use all your strength and courage to overcome the obstacles in your path, Max will not just fail: he will die, claimed by the shadows for eternity.'

'When the shadows attempt to destroy him, you must help him defeat their hold. A terrible battle will strike him, and he will be on the brink of being lost. Only by defeating him can you save him from his fate. Only you can prevent his defeat: and if he is defeated, you will all be claimed by the shadows, as will millions of others!'

Max was back in the tent once more. The seer released Jade's hand. She stood up, and addressed the three of them. 'All three of you have destinies.' She said. 'But I sense that one of you may fail to take to heart these warnings. You all must follow what you have learnt today. Far more is at stake than you can comprehend.'

'But in order to achieve your destinies, you must win the Regional Qualifiers to progress! So you three had better get moving, lest your journey end before it even begins.' The seer said.

The three left the tent, and blinked in the bright sunlight. They closed their eyes to adjust, then gingerly opened them again.

'That gypsy was a total fake.' Chris said with a smirk.

'I doubt it.' Jade said. 'Something about her seemed familiar.'

'Your mind's just playing tricks on you.' Chris said.

'I think the one who may fail to believe the warnings is you Chris.' Jade said.

'Well she WOULD say that, to get more business for her and her kind. I'm the skeptic. Anyone can sense THAT.' Chris said.

'Then how did she know not only we were going to the Qualifiers, but WHY we were going there?' Jade challenged.

'I don't know.' Chris said. 'But there's got to be a logical explanation!'

'There is!' Jade said. 'You're a closed minded, thick-skulled moron, that's what!'

The two were gathering up for a real shouting match, when Max intervened. 'GUYS!' he yelled. They turned to him. 'What?' they said in unison.

'The Qualifiers. We'll miss them if we don't hurry up.' He said.

'Right! The tournament!' Chris said.

'Let's go!' Jade said.

The three walked out of the market, and crossed several streets, Chris and Jade arguing most of the way. Max resigned himself and tuned them out. They argued right up until they entered the building.

Then they split, according to their location. 'I'll see you guys when the day's dueling is over, okay guys?' Max said.

'We'll meet up at lunch. I checked.' Jade said.

'Alright, see you then!' Max said.

'Lunch? What time?' Chris said.

Max and Jade laughed. 'What are we going to do with you, Chris?' Jade said.

'Well, you could give me a sandwich!' Chris said.

This reduced the three to such paroxysms of mirth that they could barely stand up. When they finished laughing, they looked at each other and cracked up again.

Then it was time to go. 'See you guys at lunch!' Max said, leaving the elevator.

'Bye, Max!' the two said, then the door closed, and the elevator hummed, leading them up.

Max walked down the corridor, and entered the room. It was a large room, with about 20 areas with mats, so duelists wouldn't be hurt much if they fell from exhaustion. Max saw the duelists, took a deep breath, and took out his deck to put in his Duel Disk. He closed the door, firmly taking the step, to win this in order to achieve the first part of his destiny.

END OF CHAPTER

Join me next week, for Chapter Four: Trial of the Qualifiers, where Max faces his first tournament duel: against a brutal Red-Eyes deck! He seems to be winning…but is he?

Then, in Chapter Five: Clash of the Red-Eyes, Max brings out a powerful Fusion Monster, and destroys Red-Eyes. But when Jack brings out an even stronger monster, is Max at the end of his rope?

Chapter Five will have either a made-up card or a real card, based on what you guys decide. Write a review, and add your opinion! I want to know! The duel is in your hands, and you only have a couple of weeks to decide! Think carefully, and don't miss next week's boiling hot dueling action!


	4. Chapter 4

Okay

Okay. So much for 'a chapter every week.' I guess I broke on that promise….but I don't think anyone really cared. However, that doesn't excuse what I did. To all new readers, welcome to the story of Max Winter. I don't promise to make a chapter a week. I will say that is my goal.

But first, a couple of points that may not have been clear to some people. If you don't like details, feel free to skip this part.

The Shockwave formula is as follows: 

If not attacked directly by a Monster card (note: this includes loss of life from Magic and Trap cards) the amount of Force delivered to the duelist is 1/100 of the Life Point loss, multiplied by the level of the Shockwave, with 11 counting as 15. In other words, if you lost 2000 Life Points, you would take 20 Force on Level 1, 200 on Level 10 and 300 on Level 11.

If attacked directly, the amount of Force delivered to the duelist is 1/100 of the Life Point loss, squared. It is then multiplied by 10x percent, x being the level of Shockwave. That is, 10 for Level 1, 50 for Level 5, 150 for Level 11. In other words, if attacked by 2000 ATK, directly, the force would be 20 times 20, or 400, multiplied by a percentage. (As a fun fact, the direct attack that felled Max was 18 squared (324) multiplied by 80, or 259.2 Force)

Against an average tournament duelist, 100 Force is a twinge. 600 Force is generally enough to labor them. Anything over 800 often results in a victory for the opponent. 1000 is about the ceiling of consciousness before duelists collapse. Max was not a tournament duelist at the time he passed out.

The Shockwave Levels are:

1: New Player

2: Strictly Casual

3: Casual

4: Tough Casual

5: Official Match

6: Local Tournament

7: Entry Level

8: Tournament Practice

9: Qualifier Level

10: Minor Tournament

11: Major Tournament

The Shockwave technology works as follows. The Duel Disk contains the following pieces of equipment: two holographic diodes, strapped on either side. The Deluxe version has compressed-air jets that launch these diodes approximately 20 feet (6 metres) away. The Tournament version shoots them 40 feet away, or 12 metres.

The next item is a wireless transmitter, a radio-like device. These items send signals to the diodes. The final item, the one that allows this to be possible, is a holographic generator. Obviously I can't tell you how it works, since this is advanced technology that I was forced to create.

The last item is a small but powerful processing chip. It stores several gigabytes of memory. This memory is used for storing card and holographic images. It also has a built in tracker of Life Points. This is the key area.

The diodes (all four) are used along with the two Duel Disks, to create a complete, stable, three-dimensional image of each monster and card, no matter which player controls it. On each slot where the cards are placed, an image recognizer transmits the image to the computer. The computer searches for the nearest possible match. It then sends out a bright light to cover the image of the appearing hologram and then creates the holographic image (which is 10 cm (4 inches) tall for each 100 ATK points the monster has, OR the DEF points minus 500, whichever is greater).

To control the Duel Disk, there are several buttons for each slot. One switches the mode of the monster, creating a different image (usually). One flips up a face-down card. The other destroys the image when the card is destroyed.

The Shockwave technology is comprised of two parts. The simple part latches onto the LP tracker software and determines the Life Points lost, and also whether or not the attack was directly made (if Life is lost and no monster is destroyed, it is assumed to be direct unless a special button is pressed). The second part takes that damage, and sends a type of numbing electricity through the player's system, starting down. First, they have trouble keeping upright. Then, they lose small amounts of oxygen as the numbness moves up, making it even harder to stay up. Lastly, if the duelist lasts long enough, the numbness spreads to the brain, and unconsciousness follows shortly after.

This is a very scientific explanation, please forgive me if I do not adhere to it exactly.

Okay, those who don't like details, you can come back to us now. After all that, I hope you know more about how the Shockwave works, and how much thought I put into this novel. I want it to be fantastic, yet as credible as it can possibly be. Yeah, as credible as electric shocks caused by 3-D holographic monsters created by trading cards can be. I think I've done well, considering.

Another thing. I have never been to a Yu-gi-oh tournament, as such. I have been to a few Magic: The Gathering tournaments, one where a Yu-gi-oh tournament was also happening. I hope my scenes are more realistic because of my experiences. If I missed something, please tell me.

This brings up my last point. After 3 chapters and 9,000 words, I only got one review. A good one, yes, but I was hoping for some tips in writing, and in my research. So, if you want to praise me, write a comment. If you want to criticize me with anything smarter than 'u suck' than definitely do so. If you want to give me tips on my writing style, I've reached the Holy Grail. A great strength about the Internet is the sharing of information. So go ahead and share. And if your tip is to avoid near-thousand word asides before the chapter starts, I'm all over that. This should never happen again. Unless you tell me it should, that is. (By the way, I give a few descriptions of people in the tournament. One of them….is me. Yeah. The person who looks a bit like me and does what I generally do at a tournament. Post a comment telling me who, and why. I'm interested to see if you can guess. But I can be tricky! And it's not Max or Jack, the only two named in this chapter.)

After all that, you've probably forgotten the storyline, so here's a refresher. Max, Jade and Chris had some very enigmatic fortunes told, by a woman strangely familiar to Jade. Then, they went their separate ways in the tournament building. Max has just entered the tournament room, and the tournament will soon begin….

DUELIST

Chapter Four: Trial of the Qualifiers

Max entered the room in which his tournament was to be held. A little over a dozen people were there. The oldest looked about 40, the youngest around 12. He saw several women, and people from many different backgrounds. Duel Monsters truly brought people together in the spirit of competition.

People were talking in groups of twos and threes. A couple of people were there alone, shuffling decks, and a couple of people were roaming around the crowds, seeing the trades and practice fights. A red-haired kid who looked about 14 was shuffling his deck and watching matches out of the corner of his eye. Another person, a blonde guy who looked around 16-17 was smiling and joking, but never really taking part. A girl, barely in her teens, looked around with a slight panic. She hefted the reassuring weight of her deck and grinned. A 30-ish man in a suit sat alone, quietly watching the others.

All in all, it looked like a gathering of players. Only the aloof people, and the slight aura of tension, gave any indication of the solemnity of the occasion. Max walked around, observing, taking part in a couple of debates. Then, the chatter slowly died down.

Max turned. Standing there were two people, a man and a woman. Both wore dark suits. The man had brown hair that looked like it should have been washed yesterday, and the woman had her hair tied back in a businesslike fashion. The man held a notebook, and the woman held a stack of pencils and a thin sheaf of paper. The woman holding the pencils and paper began passing them around. When everyone had them, she spoke.

"Greetings to all who have arrived at the Regional Qualifiers today. I am Irene, Head Judge of today's event. In five minutes, me and my Assistant Judge, Johnson, will be collecting your decklists to ensure they are legal in this format and arrange for pairings based on attendance. Thank you." Irene said.

The room was silent for a couple of minutes except for the scratching of pencils on paper. Looking around, Max began to sweat. Most of these people could write down these decklists from memory. Max's deck was good, but it lacked serious testing. Max went through his deck and wrote it down. He finished the last card just as the judges returned.

"Decklists, please." The woman stated. The pencils and paper were handed to the front promptly. Once all of them were gathered up, she spoke again. "We will now leave to arrange the pairings for today's tournament. When this ends, the matches will begin. The matches will have a 30-minute time limit, and be one duel only. Side Decks are not permitted."

They then left. The mutter began again. The dueling had stopped. The trading was concluding. The aura of tension increased tenfold. The young girl from before was scared. Her eyes darted about the room. Max caught her eye and gave her a friendly grin. The girl relaxed and smiled back. Max was about to walk over when the judges returned for the third time, this time with Johnson holding a large sheet of cardboard.

"The pairings have been decided. There are precisely sixteen entrants for this tournament. You will be split into four groups of four. Each group will participate in a Round Robin. The winner of each Round Robin will participate in a 4-person Sudden Death tournament. Lunch begins at 1 pm after the Round Robin has concluded."

Max checked his watch. It was 11 am now.

"The tournament shall conclude at approximately 2:30 pm. The winner will receive an invitation to the Regional Championship. Whoever wins that tournament gets to represent their district in the National Championship. Please set your Shockwaves to Level Nine. Best of luck to you all." She said.

"If you have any questions, please ask me or Johnson. We will do our best to assist you." She said.

Johnson hung the pairings on the wall and stood back. The duelists walked over to the pairings, and viewed them. Max found out he was in the second Round Robin with the duelists Jack, Ash and David, who he would face in that order. Then a black-haired kid walked up to him. He looked to be about 15.

"Are you Max?" he asked.

"That I am." Max replied, nodding at the same time.

"We've been assigned to 2-A." he said, pointing in the direction of two mats that had 2-A on them in large black letters.

Max nodded without speaking and slipped on his Duel Disk. His face got a notch more serious. The game was on. Apparently Jack didn't feel like speaking either, since he walked there in silence.

The two stood in the platforms marked out for them in black. "Are you ready?" Max asked.

Jack nodded, then held up his Duel Disk and pressed a button. In a small puff of white smoke, two metal objects flew out the side, and moved near the edge of the mat. They glittered with a rainbow light. Max pressed his own button, and his two diodes flew to the edge of the mat as well.

"Johnson?" Max called out.

Johnson strode briskly over to them. "Is there a problem?" he said.

"How do we know who goes first?" Max said.

Johnson pointed to the tournament matchup. "Whoever is first on the roster will go first." He said.

"That's me." Jack said. Max nodded, while Johnson walked away to the next pair who needed assistance.

"Alright then." Max said. "Game on."

Max and Jack each drew a hand of 5 cards.

"I play Luster Dragon!" Jack declared. Thousands of motes of light shimmered for a couple of seconds, then disappeared to reveal a deep sapphire dragon over six feet tall. It stood on hind legs like a human, and had humanoid arms. It's small wings extended about a metre to each side. It flexed it's wings menacingly. A sign with a miniature jet attached to it appeared over the monster. It read "Luster Dragon. 1900 ATK. 1600 DEF."

"I end my turn." Jack said.

Max smiled. With no face-downs, he was safe for one turn. He drew.

"I play my Mad Dog of Darkness!" he said. A sea of shimmering light appeared, and faded out to reveal a GIGANTIC orange-furred dog. It stood taller than Max. Drool dripped from it's fangs, and it's eyes glowed bright yellow and savage. It growled, to reveal sharp teeth.

"Attack Luster Dragon!" Max commanded. He pressed a button, and the two leapt into combat. The dog and the drake each bit each other savagely at the same time, then disappeared in a shimmer of light.

"Next I place two cards face-down and end my turn." Max stated. The two cards he placed shimmered into life as gigantic card backs.

"Your move." He said.

Jack nodded, and drew. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" he said. In a shimmer of light a dark thing appeared, half-twister, half-whirlpool.

"The one on the left!" Jack cried. The tornado shrieked it's way there and Max's card flipped up, revealing itself to be Waboku, before shattering.

"Curses!" Max thought. That card would have prevented all the damage from that round.

"Now, I play Vorse Raider!" Jack said. When the light cleared, the figure in front of Jack was a heavily muscled, golden-skinned warrior with a beast-like face. He was half armored and carried a gigantic, wickedly sharp, glistening axe with the tip of it blood red. A sign appeared atop it, saying "Vorse Raider. 1900 ATK. 1200 DEF."

"Vorse Raider, attack Max directly!" he said. The Vorse Raider sprung, and Max pressed a button, freezing the hologram. He then pressed another button. "I activate Scapegoat!" he said. Max's second face-down flipped up, then disappeared. In it's place, four creatures appeared. They looked like very fluffy lambs with very short limbs. Their faces were closed, blissfully asleep. Each had a different, bright-colored fur. One was yellow, one blue, one pink and one orange.

The Vorse Raider slashed one in half, which disappeared abruptly. It jumped back to Jack's side of the field.

"I end my turn." Jack said.

Max drew. He was in a bit of trouble now, he thought ruefully. But then he saw the card he drew, and a card he had in hand. He grinned.

"I play my Gene-Warped Warwolf!" he said triumphantly. A four-armed, standing she-wolf emerged. Her fur was almost white, and black lines traced across it. Her face was covered by an elaborate purple veil, but red eyes shone from beneath it. The sign that appeared said "Gene-Warped Warwolf. 2000 ATK. 100 DEF."

"Now, I play Graceful Charity!" he said. He took a deep breath, then drew 3 cards. Then he discarded the Graceful Charity, Seven Tools of the Bandit and another Mad Dog of Darkness. Max smiled. Brilliant.

"Next, I play my Axe of Despair!" he said. He pressed a button and placed the card in it's slot. A knobbed, wooden axe appeared in one hand of the Warwolf. The axe was fairly ordinary, but a red glow came off it, and encircled the Warwolf. The Warwolf growled and crouched into a fighting stance. The sign now read "Gene-Warped Warwolf. 2000 + 1000 (3000) ATK, 100 DEF."

"Now, my Warwolf! Attack his Raider!" Max shouted. The Wolf leaped, and in a single swing, lopped off both the axe head and the physical head of the Vorse Raider.Both disappeared, and then Jack grimaced in pain. His Life Point gauge fell to 2900. He panted for breath as the Warwolf fluidly jumped back to Max's side of the field.

"I end my turn." Max said.

Jack took a deep breath and drew. Then he gulped.

"I play Premature Burial!" he said, then gasped again as Shockwave hit him. Jack's life fell by 800, to a total of 2100.

"It was worth it!" Jack said painfully. "Now I return my Luster Dragon to the field!" he said.

"Next, I play Soul Exchange!" he said gleefully. "I sacrifice my Luster Dragon and your Gene-Warped Warwolf to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The two disappeared, and then, a curtain of light appeared. When the light dissipated, a giant dragon had appeared.

The dragon looked like a living weapon, all sharp edges, and shining black scales. It had large wings that it spread out behind it, and fierce red eyes. It hovered above Jack's head.

The sign read "Red-Eyes Black Dragon. 2400 ATK. 2000 DEF."

Max gulped. Chris had a Red-Eyes in his deck, but it wasn't the same as seeing an opponent with it out on the field. For a moment he panicked, but then he saw his little goats on the field, protecting him. It didn't look like they could protect him, but they could.

"Red-Eyes!" Jack said. "Destroy a Scapegoat!" The yellow goat disappeared in a burst of flame. Red-Eyes didn't even move.

"Your turn." Jack said.

Max drew. This wouldn't stop Red-Eyes, but at least he could stop the situation worsening.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Max said. The giant card appeared on the field.

"My turn, then." Jack said, and drew.

"I play Gemini Elf!" He said. Before the elf could materialize however, Max replied.

"I activate Trap Hole!" Max said.

Two elves appeared, a blonde and a redhead. Before Max could make out any more, a black shadow appeared and dragged the two within it, then both disappeared. Max's face-down shimmered out of existence.

"Fine!" Jack said. "Red-Eyes, destroy the third Scapegoat!" Red-Eyes opened it's cruel maw again and released a gout of flame, torching another goat, which disappeared, leaving Max with only one goat left.

"Your turn." Jack said.

Max drew. This could definitely help him, he thought. "I place one card in defense mode, and end my turn." He said.

Jack smiled, and drew. "I play another Gemini Elf!" he said. This time Max could see them properly. Two elves stood side by side, one blonde, one redhead. Both were female. They both looked hostile, and the redhead had tribal markings on her face. They were about as feminine as a pair of dustcarts.

The sign read "Gemini Elf. 1900 ATK. 900 DEF."

"Gemini Elf!" Jack said. "Destroy his last Scapegoat!"

The two elves leaped, and in a twin sword strike, cut the Scapegoat into four pieces, which shattered. The elves leaped back and sheathed their glittering swords.

"Now, Red Eyes!" Jack yelled. "Destroy his face-down monster!" Red-Eyes let out another devastating blast. A three-eyed, purple haired woman appeared, then disappeared.

"My monster was Witch of the Black Forest!" Max declared. "Now I get to search for any monster with less than 1500 defense points!"

Max looked through his deck for the card he knew he wanted. He revealed it to his opponent. "Summoned Skull!" he said. He added it to his hand, then shuffled and cut his deck. Jack nodded.

"I end my turn." Jack said.

Max drew. "I play my Premature Burial!" he said, then grimaced with the Shockwave, though he handled it better than Jack, who had not been on Max's grueling regime. Max was bent on going to the top, Jack knew he wouldn't get past the Regional Championship if he made it. Thus, he had not trained as hard.

Max's gauge fell to 3200. "I choose my Mad Dog of Darkness, which I then sacrifice!" Max said.

"Summoned Skull!" he declared. When the light cleared, a fearsome figure appeared. A huge skeletal figure with dark blue wings, and a purple cloak appeared. His eyes glowed green. He was at least two feet taller than Max, with a ghastly grin on his face. The sign read "Summoned Skull. 2500 ATK. 1200 DEF."

"Summoned Skull!" Max commanded. "Destroy Gemini Elf!"

The fiend reached out a hand, and a dark bolt of energy came out of his hand and split in two, piercing the heads of both elves. They died in a nova of light. Jack's knees quivered as his Life fell to 1500.

"Your move." Max said. He finally felt like he was getting the upper hand in this duel…but then his hopes were crushed in an instant.

Jack drew, and laughed. Actually laughed. Max recoiled. Anything that could make Jack this happy was not going to be good.

"This duel is over!" Jack shouted. "Change of Heart!"

Max gasped in shock. A green mark appeared on Summoned Skull's head, and the light in his eyes ran out. Mindlessly, he disappeared and reappeared on Jack's field.

"Now you're defenseless!" Jack said…and then stopped.

"I'm sorry Max." he said. "But I have to do this. Red-Eyes, attack him directly!"

Despite his fear, Max nodded at Jack, before preparing himself for the onslaught.

The dragon opened it's mouth once more, and holographic flame engulfed Max. Then the fire disappeared…and the Shockwave activated, hitting Max with all of it's devastating force.

TO BE CONTINUED….

END OF CHAPTER

Yes, okay. I'm a jerk. Write your angry comments. I understand. But I had to do it. This was only going to be one section, but when I realized the time it took to properly describe the tournament, I realized it had to be done justice and given two sections. And I left you at a cliffhanger, why? Well, so that you have a bigger chance of reading it next week. Don't LOOK at me like that! TV writers do it all the time!

Also, I've decided on something. A lot of events such as tournaments, duels and even cards appear more than once. Thus I'm going with a systemic approach. Each time the same thing occurs, I'll skim the description I've covered, then add something new if I can. So if I didn't include your favourite detail of a card or the tournament atmosphere or whatever, mention it. It might just appear next time this comes up.

In Chapter Five: Clash of the Red-Eyes, the battle heats up with powerful draconic monsters! Then it's Fusion vs. Fusion, but only one Red-Eyes can remain supreme!

Then, in Chapter Six: Ash the Invincible, Max can't win. Admittedly he can't lose either, but with Ash hiding behind walls all the time, what is his plan?


	5. Chapter 5

A much briefer introduction

A much briefer introduction. During the last chapter, Change of Heart was used. This card is banned in the tournament scene. However, I am using poetic license. If I get to make original cards (which I will, sparingly) I get to say what's banned. Change of Heart, Monster Reborn and Pot of Greed are allowed, as single copies.

The results are in for my several-month poll: Original Cards 1, Non-original Cards 0. That forces me to assume that the unanimous vote is for original cards: I will however, use them sparingly. There is a total of one in this chapter, and it will be a signature card throughout the book. Unless I have a good reason, I won't use a made-up card.

Sorry about the wait: I've had assignments. Senior school is tough. I am glad at the response to Max's story I've gotten so far. It hasn't even started getting to the best parts yet. I'm pretty proud of what I have planned for a few chapters from now though.

Anyway, last time, we cruelly left Max Winter facing down a gigantic Shockwave attack. Let's find out what happens, shall we?

DUELIST

Chapter Five: Clash of the Red-Eyes

Max barely had time to breathe before the Shockwave struck. He needn't have bothered, as the Shockwave drew the air out in the form of a scream as the electric charge went through nerves and muscles down his arm, into his lungs, making him gasp in agony, into his other hand causing him to drop his cards, and his legs, causing him to collapse, all within a second.

Max rose, fast as a bullet, and drew his next card so quickly, sparks flew out of the Shockwave. He laughed at his insignificant opponent, and then played his card. Something huge and blue came out of it, and launched towards his opponent…and then HE was the opponent, and Jack was staring at him as the monster (gym mat?) came at him.

Max collapsed. It was like a bucket of cold water. For a moment, Max wondered why he was on the floor, then he realized the Shockwave had hit him. Hard. Max wasn't fully conscious, but at least he was lucid. His eyes focused, to see two things. First, he saw a timer, saying 3:32…3:31...3:30. This was his duel timer, time left before forfeiture of the match unless he rose. Then he saw his hand of cards, and picked them up. Max rose to his knees, then with a great effort, hoisted himself up shakily. Max's life gauge was now at 800, barely half of Jack's 1500.

Jack looked at Max, and looked like a little kid for a moment. Then he took a deep breath, and his eyes hardened. "Summoned Skull! Attack directly!" he declared.

Max pressed a button, freezing the hologram, then discarded Kuriboh. A small brown furball with eyes, about a foot in diameter, came out from the Shockwave. The Summoned Skull launched a bolt of lightning, and fried the Kuriboh. But at least his Life Points were safe.

"Now I play a face-down card, and end my turn." Jack said.

Max drew a card (without sparks). "I Set a card in Defense Mode." He said. A horizontal card back shimmered into being on the Monster part of the field.

"Now, I attack with Summoned Skull!" he yelled. His Summoned Skull roared, and let loose a bolt of lightning. "Rush Recklessly!" Jack replied. His Red-Eyes jumped to 3100 ATK. It dodged the blow, then let out a gout of flame, destroying the Summoned Skull. Max grimaced as his Life Points fell to 200.

"Next I place a card face-down and end my turn." Max said.

Jack drew, and grinned. "Skilled Dark Magician!" he said. A solemn magician with blue shoulder armor, a dark cloak, and a heavy-looking staff appeared.. The sign, hovering on a miniature holographic jet, said "Skilled Dark Magician. 1900 ATK. 1600 DEF."

"Red-Eyes! Attack his face-down!" Jack said. A shimmering blue tiger that looked insubstantial flared into being, then disappeared in a wisp of smoke, burned by the bright orange fire of Red-Eyes.

"I activate Enchanted Javelin!" Max said. His Life flew to 2600. "This card lets me gain life equal to your monster's attack!" he explained.

"I know." Jack confirmed.

"Now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack him directly!" he said. The magician struck with his wicked staff, and Max sagged, but with extreme force of will, stayed standing. Achingly slowly, he rose to his full height as his life plummeted to 700 points. He raised his Duel Disk, and gave a haggard grin.

Max drew his next card, then closed his eyes for a second. 'This Shockwave is brutal!" he thought. He was having trouble standing. Max took two deep breaths and opened his eyes. "I play Last Day of Witch!" he cried. "This destroys every Spellcaster on the field!" Max said. Skilled Dark Magician exploded.

"Next I play one card face-down, and end my turn." Max said, placing down the last card in his hand.

Jack drew his card. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack his face-down!" he said. The now-familiar gout of flame came out, and a grey jar with a blue blob in it that had, of all things, a face, disappeared.

"That was Morphing Jar!" Max declared. "Now we each draw 5 cards!" he continued.

Jack and Max each counted as they drew, until they filled their hands. This was a dangerous move, Max knew. He had drawn some of the cards he needed, but not all, and Jack, like Max, now had a whole new box of tricks.

"Next, I play Polymerization!" Jack said. "Sacrificing Red-Eyes, and Meteor Dragon from my hand, I play Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon!"

A gigantic dragon appeared. It was huge, the biggest monster Max had ever seen outside of practice. It was almost twelve feet tall, and about twice Max's height. It had red scales, interspersed with black ones, in a lava-like pattern. Max craned his neck up slightly. A gigantic head, with a gigantic mouth, with gigantic teeth. It was gigantic. And angry. Max almost took a step back. The holographic technology was good. It looked so real.

The creature roared. The sound systems in the holographic diodes blared out at him. "How do you like my pet, Max?" Jack asked. The sign informed Max that the dragon's attack was 3500.

"Maybe you should get a dog." Max replied.

Jack laughed. "It's your turn, Max. Let's see how you do!" he said.

Max drew. He grinned. "I'll deal with your dragon." He promised. "I put two cards face-down, and end my turn." He said.

Jack drew, and studied the board for a second. "I play my Gene-Warped Warwolf!" he said. A creature with four arms began to appear, but then Max shouted "Trap Hole!" pressing a button on his console. A black shadow enveloped the partially formed creature.

"Fine!" Jack said. "Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. Hit him." He said.

"I activate Shadow Spell!" Max said. Thick chains, as thick as Max's arm, came out of the air, and wound about the creature. The dragon struggled, then stopped moving. The

sign now read "Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon. ATK: 3500-700(2800). DEF: 2000."

"Well played, Max." Jack said. "Your turn."

Max drew. "I play Mad Dog of Darkness!" he said. A gigantic black and orange dog, with specks of white foam around his growling mouth, appeared. It had 1900 ATK.

"Next, I play Axe of Despair!" he declared. An axe with a red aura floated over to the dog, and transferred it's red emanations to the dog. The dog grew about a metre, and growled. The sign now read "Mad Dog of Darkness. ATK: 1900+1000(2900) DEF: 1400.

100 higher than Red-Eyes.

"Mad Dog of Darkness! Destroy Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon!" he shouted. The dog sprang forward, and destroyed the huge dragon by biting off it's head. Jack fell to 1400, and stood there, stunned, eyes wide as saucers.

"Now I place a card face-down." He said. "Your turn, Jack." Max said, and grinned slightly. He'd done it! He'd destroyed Jack's strongest monster, and even had a bit of extra insurance with his face-down. Soon, the first match of the Qualifiers would be over.

Jack drew, and laughed. Max inclined his head. "What's so funny, Jack?" he asked.

"This!" Jack shouted. "My best monster!"

"What about the Meteor Dragon?" Max asked.

"This monster coming up is even stronger! I play Monster Reborn, returning Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Then I sacrifice it to summon…Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

Red-Eyes grew darker. Bright red patterns appeared on the wings. The red eyes turned almost black. Then, it grew to half it's size again. It shrieked, a primal call of a great dragon.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon starts with 2400 attack!" Jack said. "But for each Dragon in my graveyard, it gains 300 points! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon and Luster Dragon all power up my beast, to 3300!" The dragon, black as night, was now bigger than the dog.

"Nice duel, Max. But it's over. You only have 200 Life left, and you're about to take 400! Red-Eyes Black Darkness Dragon! Attack!"

"Activate my face-down, Gift of the Mystical Elf! Now I gain 300 Life for each monster on the field, which means 600 Life for me!" Max declared. His Life gauge rose to 800.

Then, the black flames, flickering with blue, came out of the dragon's mouth in a devastating blast. The dog didn't stand a chance, and shattered, along with it's axe. Max's gauge fell to 400, and he winced with the small Shockwave.

"My turn!" Max said. He drew, and his eyes grew intense. "Come on, deck." He thought. "Pull through for me." "Now, I play Pot of Avarice!" he said. "If I have 5 or more monsters in my grave, which I do, I can draw two cards!" Max drew, and grinned. "Just what I wanted!"

"Your dragon is strong, Jack. But I have a dragon in my deck that's even stronger!" Max declared.

"Now! I play Polymerization, to fuse three cards from my hand! Dark Magician!" he shouted. A purple robed man, transparent, appeared on the field. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" He shouted. A large, black dragon with blood-red eyes, also transparent, joined the Magician. "Summoned Skull!" he shouted. The terrible fiend, transparent, joined the other two. "I fuse you together, to form the ultimate creature, Warlock Dragon!" Max shouted, vaguely aware his duel was now being watched with interest.

The three specters disappeared in a flash of light. Then, a gigantic creature shimmered into existence. A black and purple scaled dragon appeared, with hands and feet like a human. It stood on hind legs, with a wicked-looking spiked tail. It's armored scales glimmered, black as night. It was even bigger than the Darkness Dragon, bigger than the Meteor Dragon. It was huge. The sign above it read: "Warlock Dragon. ATK: 4000 DEF: 3500.

"This is MY ultimate creature, Jack!" Max shouted. "Now, for my final card!" he said, revealing the last card in his hand. "Soul Release!"

Jack paled. "That means all your dragons in your graveyard are removed from the game!" Max said. Red-Eyes grew smaller, and it's scales duller. It's sign now read "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon. ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000.

"That's 1600 damage Jack: 200 more than your Life." Max said. "Warlock Dragon! Attack!"

A scepter appeared in the dragon's hand. It glowed. Then the dragon let out a gout of black fire, and the scepter let out a thinner, but no less ferocious stream of red. The two mingled together, and slammed into the dragon. Jack cried out, and his Life gauge fell….all the way to 0.

"That's game." Max said. "Are you all right, Jack?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jack said. "That Shockwave is something else, eh?" He asked. Max nodded, and called over Johnson. Jack confirmed the victory, and Max punched the air. One down, two to go. Jack left, to go wander, and Max stood there for a moment, savouring the victory.

Max suddenly had a thought. "Johnson?" he asked. Johnson walked over, and said "Yes?"

"How long does the round have left?" he asked.

Johnson checked his watch. "19 minutes and 33 seconds."

"O…kay." Max said. "Can I leave, if I get back in time for the next round?"

"You may." Johnson replied.

Max nodded, and left the room. He entered into the hallway of the building. He remembered Jade telling him she was in room E-22. He checked his room. E-18.

Max walked down the corridor. It obviously belonged to someone fairly wealthy: soft red carpet adorned the floor, and art on the walls. Max passed each room in turn, each being used for a different Qualifiers. After a minute of walking, he got to E-22, and went in.

Max saw roughly the same setup as was present at the Qualifiers he was entered into. Blue mats everywhere, and a few dueling pairs, the rest resting up for the next round. Then Max saw Jade. She was dueling.

It looked bad. Jade had only 400 Life, whereas her opponent was at a cool 2200, and had a Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000) and a Luster Dragon (1900) in play. All Jade had was one face-down, and one defense monster.

"I activate Waboku!" Jade proclaimed, stopping the attacks. "My turn!" she said.

Jade drew, and grinned. "Now, I flip my Lord of Dragons monster into attack mode!" A small, four-foot cloaked man appeared, with 1200 ATK. "Then I play Flute of Summoning Dragon, to summon my two Red-Eyes Black Dragons!"

Two identical Red-Eyes appeared. "Next, I play Polymerization to fuse one with Meteor Dragon!" In a nova of light, a Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon appeared. "Now! I'll sacrifice my second Red-Eyes, to play Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, and thanks to all the sacrifices I just made, it's got 3300 ATK!"

A powerful Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon appeared. Now Jade definitely had the upper hand. "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! Destroy Luster Dragon!" she cried. Her opponent fell to 600 Life.

"Now, Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon! Your turn! Take out the Warwolf!" she cried triumphantly. The attack struck, and her opponent fell to his knees, flabbergasted. His Life fell to 0.

"Good game." Jade said, and smiled. Then she saw Max.

"Max! I thought you were dueling!" she said, and jogged over to him.

"I was." He said. "Tough match for me, but you…wow! He never even knew what hit him!"

Jade shrugged. "I guess that's true!" she said, and grinned. A judge handed her a match report. She glanced at it, then signed it with her pen.

"So how about you?" Jade asked. "Made any good plays yet?"

"Well, I got Warlock Dragon out." He said. He summarized the duel briefly.

"Nice." Jade said, and nodded.

"You want to go see Chris?" Max asked.

"Yeah, alright." Jade said.

The two left the room. "Uh…what room is Chris at again?" Max asked.

"You two." Jade shook her head ruefully. "You can remember a thousand cards by word, but you always forget each other's birthdays." She said.

Max looked at her. Jade sighed. "E-24." She said.

The two walked for another ten seconds or so, and then reached E-24. They went in. Chris was lounging about like…well…like Chris. The two went over to him. "Hi guys." Chris said. "How'd you go?"

"Pretty good." The two said, at the same moment.

"Me too." Chris said. "The good thing about fast decks is they make more time for lunch." He said.

"So your entire deck archetype, right down to the strategy, is based around lunch?" Jade asked.

"Pretty much." Chris replied. Max cracked up, while Jade shook her head ruefully. Again. She did that a lot.

"Five minutes." The head judge said from the other side of the room.

Max and Jade looked up. 'We'd better get going." Jade said.

"See you later!" Chris said.

Max and Jade opened the door and walked out. Max walked with Jade to E-22, then walked back to E-18. He opened the door, and checked the clock, with a full three minutes to spare.

Max looked around. There were people chatting, people dueling without Disks, and people just sitting there. Then Max saw a guy just sitting there. He just watched the proceedings, unmoving. For some reason, Max got a chill looking at him. Then he realized why. This guy had the ultracool confidence of someone who was way below his league. This was probably a guy who only did this to practice his deck before taking on the pros every year. He was about 25, wearing all black, with brown, hard eyes and a mouth that always seemed to be frowning slightly. Max knew he did not want to take that guy on anytime soon. Or anytime for that matter. Hopefully they wouldn't meet up, but if Max wanted to win, that guy would face him in Sudden Death unless the mysterious guy lost his round robin, which seemed unlikely.

"Time is up!" The head judge called out. "The second round of the round robins will now begin."

Johnson, holding a fresh square of cardboard, hung it up on the wall. Max checked his Round Robin. Jack was up against David, and Max was up against someone named Ash.

Max looked around. "Who's Ash?" he called loudly. Then he saw the mysterious guy stand up. "I am." He said. So this was Ash. The pro. The guy who came not expecting to win, but sure he would win. And now Max had to face him to continue. This was bad. It had officially progressed from not-good, to very bad.

Max met the cold eyes. Ash smiled, in a grin that never showed up in his eyes. "Time to duel." He said, in a cool voice, the voice of a guy in total control. "I'm Ash Maverick. Twice Regional Champion, one New South Wales Top Four." He said.

Then he said one other thing. "Good luck." He said. "You'll need it."

TO BE CONTINUED…

END OF CHAPTER

This isn't looking good for Max. He's up against one of the foes he has sworn to defeat, but is he ready? Find out in Chapter Six: Ash the Invincible.

Then in Chapter Seven: Laying the Beatdown, Max is one step behind David's brutal beatdown deck. Can Max step up his game, and defeat one of the most brutal foes he's ever faced?

The next couple of chapters are going to be pretty good: the book just keeps on getting better, so keep following Max's story as the Regional Qualifiers unfold and Max gets an inkling of the kind of battle he's up against!


End file.
